This topic provides a quick overview of the new Question object. In-depth detail on each element is provided in the topics indicated.
Opus allows you to create a wide variety of Questions simply by drawing them on the page. The question object is a container similar to a frame. You can put any other Opus object into the Question object, including other frames, text, images or video. You cannot have questions within questions but you can have more than one question on a page and you can set a single button to Confirm the answer provided for all the questions on the page.
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The Question object is NOT restricted to standard question and answer types of learning interaction. It can accommodate cloze procedures, essay questions and even simulation tests. It can be used for custom questions or for tests which do not involve questions at all such as simulations (see the Custom Questions topic for further details.
We recommend it is used as the starting point for all tests so that the various scoring and testing variables can be tracked properly.
The Question object allows Opus to automatically handle the scoring according to the type of question and the values set up in Question Properties for each answer. It also manages a wide range of fundamental requirements for training and tests such as resetting answers, storing a summary of the test, allowing users to return to pages if required, marking topics and whole courses and so forth.
One of the most useful of these is that Opus will automatically store the position of dragged objects so that a user can come back and review a drag and drop question without you having to do a large amount of scripting to store the details.
Questions are divided into several different types allowing you to choose if the question requires a single answer or more than one, whether it needs confirmation or whether it involves text input or drag and drop.
It is also possible to set answer states with all the usual Opus activity and we have provided range of "special" question templates with some of these including sliders for percentages or to indicate dates.
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You can always change the type of question at any point by selecting it from the drop down list provided on the Question tab of the Properties for the Question object.
The text input question allows very sophisticated checking very easily. You can type in a word or phrase which the user’s answer must match or contain but to provide full versatility you can use standard search keywords such as AND, OR and NOT to create very comprehensive testing.
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To check for a phrase rather than individual words you can simply put the phrase in quotes as in "United Kingdom". If you miss out the quotation marks Opus will score correctly for both United OR Kingdom. You can also make combinations explicit by using AND, OR and NOT.
The provision of multiple answers means you can check a large amount of text for a wide range of answers thereby allowing even long answers to be checked automatically.
The Question object also allows Opus to keep track of an unprecedented range of scoring variables to ensure you can easily test the progress of the user in a variety of ways. These have been informed by working with real world customers.
Most programs will allow you to check the current score as a value or percentage but Opus now also tracks the total number of questions and the remaining possible score so you can check whether the user can still gain an adequate score or not.
To assist with competency assurance requirements we also now allow you to set particular questions as critical to a pass so users must get them right or they will fail the test whatever score they achieve.
You can set specific scores for each answer in a question and you can also indicate that the answer should be marked as correct or incorrect. This allows you to decide whether a course has been passed on the basis of the number of questions which have been answered correctly.
Note that any incorrect answer given in a question will set the whole question as incorrect – otherwise users could simply choose all the answers and be assured of getting the question correct.
Thus you may wish to design the test to be based either on the score OR on the number of correct questions. Alternatively you may wish to test for success by considering a score but only if a specific number of questions are have been answered correctly.
If you do not wish to mark a question as incorrect even if the user gets the question wrong then simply don’t have any incorrect answers. You can either have a "correct" answer which has no score or better still do not have any actions to set an answer when the user has picked the incorrect options.
You add questions to your page by simply drawing them into place as you would any other object.
We have provided an extensive range of question templates in a variety of style and these are available direct from the toolbar.
There is a new toolbar button on the Tools toolbar with several different options on a flyout menu which allows you to select one of the standard question types
They all have a default size but you can reposition or resize the elements as required.
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To place the chosen Question on your page simply click the left mouse button where you want the top left corner to be. This will place the Question at the intended size and you can then reposition and resize it to suit.
Further question types and styles will be available via our website from time to time.
All the consituent parts can be edited in exactly the same way as if they were standalone. The key properties of the Question are on the Question Properties itself.
If you want to resize the Question object as a whole remember the new Resize Mode allows you to resize everything at once and if you need more room for text you can use the resize mode without resizing the font.
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You can have more than one question on a page and the question does not need to include any content itself which can be useful for more complex tests and simulations. When using more than one question remember to set the Submit Answers button to confirm all the questions by checking all the relevant checkboxes
As with other Opus objects the Question object has a Properties dialog allowing you to set standard aspects like background, border, a background image or effects such as transparency or blend.
In addition it also has a tab dedicated to the specific properties of the Question itself.. This is the key area where you can set the values of answers and provide the words and phrases for checking text input answers.
The Question tab on the Properties dialog allows you to set specific aspects of the Question including the type of question and to set the answers and their scores.
A grid is provided allowing you to give the answer a name/description which is used to indicate the answer in the Quiz Summary. Simply double-click ion the box to edit the content.
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The answer name is NOT the answer content itself but simply a name for it. Obviously it can be used to indicate the answer but the actual content of an answer will be set by whatever object is displayed as the answer – a piece of text or an image for example.
The exception is text input where a specific word or phrase is typed in here to be used to check the user’s answer against.
A box is provided for the score for each answer (this can be a negative number if you want to penalise incorrect answers). Using different values for different answers is also useful in creating weighting – giving greater value to the more difficult answers to a question.
Finally a two-way checkbox allows you to set whether the answer should be considered correct or incorrect. All the individual scores are calculated for the scoring values variables but only one correct answer needs to be chosen for the question to be counted towards the SCORE_CORRECT total.
Where you wish to check text which has been typed in by the user you the process is slightly different. There is a special edit box where you can input the text to be compared with for each answer.
Opus now includes the ability to track questions by specific topics and to set overall pass marks for both topics and the whole course (which is all the topics in a publication). This can simply be a way to divide specific parts of the test or can be related to external syllabus topics. The topics are set up in Publication Properties and you can indicate which topic a question relates to by choosing it from a drop down list on the Question Properties.
Triggers are provided to perform actions when the topic or course is passed or failed and the Topic Condition and Course Condition actions allow you to check the status of the course or topic at any time.